Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
A/N: Sorry again for this delay. Between all the traveling, visiting and hosting I've been doing the holidays, I've been pretty sick. I'm starting to feel much better though and am hoping to get back to updating regularly again. I hope you all had a splendid holiday and appreciate the time you had with friends and family. Enjoy…
Best Definition of Good Intentions
27 – Why Can't I Make It Leave?
Clothes were flying across the room. Bella was perched against the headboard of her bed with clothing, some folded and some not, blanketing her bed. At the foot, her overnight bag stood open, ready to be stuffed. Alice turned around, away from the closet and eyed the bag.
"I don't think that's going to be big enough," she said, hands on her hips, thinking.
"We're only going to be gone for the weekend, Alice."
"I know that. But that's an overnight bag," she pointed to the offending piece of luggage. "You can't expect me to fit all these clothes inside that teeny bag. They'll get wrinkled!"
Putting aside the book she was reading, Bella looked around the bed, paying attention to the clothes Alice had been throwing at her for the first time. Wide-eyed, she asked, "All these clothes?"
"No, silly, the clothes still in your closet." Alice rolled her eyes sarcastically and moved on, searching underneath Bella's bed for different luggage. "Where's your other bag?"
"What do I need all these clothes for?" Bella's full attention was on Alice now. Cautiously, as though the clothes would bite, Bella picked up piece after piece, inspecting her best friend's choices. Three different sweaters, a red, a green and a blue, were piled next to tank tops of comparable colors. Jeans were stacked next to shorts, and two skirts thrown lazily on top. Shoes littered the floor and belts snaked around them. Over the back of Bella's desk chair, t-shirts hung over the back, showing a rainbow of colors. The shirt on top, white with a black graphic rose design, was one Bella had never seen before.
Alice took the in the same scene, although her eyes were alit with promise of opportunity whereas Bella's merely showed worry. She answered, almost sheepishly, "Well, we don't really know what we're going to be doing."
"It's only three days, Alice," Bella said, using a stern voice.
"Who knows what you'll feel like wearing, though?" Alice tried, hoping Bella to mend to her wishes.
"I won't care," Bella said truthfully. "Can't you just pick a couple outfits that will work for anything?"
"But, Bella…" Alice's face contorted to mimic a sad puppy dog.
"Alice. Just pick out the outfits you want me to wear now. It'll save you from having it do it over the weekend."
"I like to do it, Bella!"
"I don't need to bring all these clothes with me – it's pointless."
"Fine," Alice huffed and began weeding through the clothes and placing the winners inside Bella's bag.
She worked in silence for the next few minutes while Bella resumed reading. At the sound of the zipper, Bella closed the book, bookmark inside and stood up.
"All done?" she asked brightly.
"Yes," Alice answered, unhappy.
"If it makes you feel any better, we need to go shopping." Bella picked up the bag and started for the door.
Alice perked up immediately at the mention of spending money. She followed Bella into the hallway and they descended the stairs. "What for?"
"Edward's gift. I need to go to J.D.'s in Port Angeles. Want to go with me this afternoon?"
"Of course!" Alice exclaimed, clapping her hands.
While Bella went into the kitchen to leave a note for Charlie, Alice stayed at the bottom of the stairs with Bella's bag while she dialed her house number to tell her parents about the pit stop they would be making before returning home. Just as she slide her phone into her purse, through the front window Alice spied a car pulling into Bella's driveway.
"Somebody's here, Bella!" she called out.
"Who?" Bella asked, finishing up the note.
"Not sure. I don't recognize the car."
"Well, let's find out." Bella walked into the room and straight towards the front door. Without waiting for the knock, she opened the door to take a look at the guest. However, she did wait until he'd climbed out of his car and was climbing the porch stairs before greeting him. "Jake! What are you doing here?"
At the mention of Bella's friend's name, Alice jumped up from her perch on the stairs and immediately went to Bella's side to look out the front door. Jacob smiled and waved with his free hand and ducked through the front door. Having moved out the way, Alice peeked around Jacob's hulking figure and raised her eyebrows in appreciation. Bella merely shook her head at her friend's antics and allowed Jacob to pull her into a hug.
"What are you doing here?" she asked again.
"Heard you were going out of town," he answered with a shrug. "Charlie's gonna need to eat something while you're gone."
He held up the bag in his hand and disappeared into the kitchen. In the other room, Bella and Alice listened to his heavy footsteps on the tile and the opening and closing of the refrigerator door. Before he reappeared, Alice turned to Bella and silently mouthed "He's cute." Again, Bella could only shake her head.
"You must be Alice," Jacob said, offering his hand. "I'm Jacob."
Taking his hand, Alice said, "It's so nice to meet you! Finally! I've heard so much about you."
"You have?" Jacob turned to Bella, raising his eyebrows. He was remembering their conversation from a few nights before, when he'd accused Bella of being ashamed of their friendship.
"Of course! And I have to thank you for taking such good care of Bella while I was away. I was so happy to hear she'd made a new friend to spend all her time with!" Alice's excitement was infectious and Jacob found himself unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face.
Bella, though, was having a tough time standing by while listening to her two friends talk about her. "You do realize that I am standing right here?"
Alice shot Bella quick look and smile and then turned back to Jacob. "I have to admit, though, I was quite jealous at first. I'm not sure Bella ever spend that much time with me."
"Does this mean you'll be coming cliff-diving with us on Wednesday?" Jacob rubbed his hands over his newly buzzed hair and awaited Alice's answer.
"Cliff-diving?" She looked to Bella for an explanation, who, in turn, looked to Jacob.
"It's pretty much what it sounds like. You dive from the cliffs down on the reservation. A couple of my friends and I were planning on going and I invited Bella, and whoever else she wanted. You in?"
"A couple of your friends?" Alice asked unsure. "Jake, I know how well you and your friends gets along with Jasper and Emmett."
"Hey!" Jacob defened, raising his arms in surrender. "I don't have any problem with those guys. And it'll only be Embry and Quil who come, and probably Seth, too. I promise, there won't be any problems."
Between the sincerity in his words and his beaming smile, Alice couldn't help but believe Jacob's promise. She exclaimed, "Count us in!"
"Awesome!" Jacob looked over to Bella, who had moved to sit down on the bottom stair while her friends were talking.
"Oh yea, sounds great!" she replied, sarcastically.
Jacob eyed the bag by Bella's feet. "You goin' somewhere?"
"I told you I was going to Seattle for the weekend, for Edward's birthday, didn't I?"
"I thought that wasn't till tomorrow?"
"It is. I'm staying at the Cullen's tonight so we can leave first thing in the morning. Alice came over to help me pack and we're going over to Port Angeles to pick up Edward's gift," Bella explained. She stood up, bag in hand and moved toward the front door.
"Well, I won't keep you then." Jacob hugged Bella goodbye and turned to bid farewell to Alice when she wrapped her small arms around his torso. He was taken aback by her hug at first, but then realized how true to her character, judging by everything Bella had told him, it was. He hugged her back. "It was nice to meet you, Alice. You girls have a fun weekend!"
"See you Wednesday, Jake! Can't wait to cliff-dive!" Alice nearly shouted.
She and Bella followed Jacob out of the house. While Bella locked the front door, Alice watched Jacob get into his car and drive away. She opened her mouth to say something to Bella, but was stopped before any words could escape.
"Don't even say it, Alice. I don't want to know what you're thinking." Bella threw her bag into the backseat of Alice's speedy, yellow car and climbed into the passenger side as Alice took her place behind the wheel.
--
Dinner had long been served and cleared and the cars packed when Carlisle and Esme retired to bed that night. Carlisle had worked late, barely making the tail end of dinner, in order to ensure that his work was finished before leaving for the weekend's conference. The next morning, he and Esme would be leaving right after breakfast and driving straight through to the medical center for check-in. Even though the kids were going to take their time leaving, and driving to Seattle, Esme had invited them all to stay the night more for Edward's sake than for traveling ease. She didn't want Edward to be alone, for even the shortest period of time, on his eighteenth birthday.
The porch lights were on, throwing strange shadows through the surrounding forest. Just beyond the light's reach, the small river raced, the sound of water echoing to the ears of those seated outside the house. Their faces were reflected back in the closed glass door, keeping their noise outside. Rosalie was sitting on the step below Emmett, resting between his knees, against his body, on the tiled ledge. Across the circle from the couple, with his back to the woods, Jasper sat, eyes closed, ever-present guitar in hands. As the group talked around him, he idly strummed, music swelling around them.
To his one side, Edward sat quietly. Now his hands were placed in his lap but every few minutes, he would sigh and fidget, trying to find a new comfortable position. After a couple unsuccessful attempts, he would end up in the same arrangement, only to repeat the cycle again. His hands needed a task, his brain longed for some activity to busy itself with. As much as he enjoyed his friends' company, there was a severe lack of direction in the conversation and long lulls, comfortable for everyone else, hung over the group frequently. Jasper's playing was not methodical, almost as though he was putting no thought into the notes he produced, despite appearances. Alice and Bella, across the circle from Edward, on Jasper's other side, were more involved in their own conversation than the group's, although theirs was riddled with silences as well.
"So Jasper," Emmett started, pulling the wannabe-rockstar from his music induced trance. "Your parents left today?"
It wasn't enough to re-energize the conversation as Jasper merely nodded. Sick of the silence, Emmett pestered him again, this time choosing a question that his friend would need to use his words to answer.
"How long are they gone for?" he asked.
Alice, however, anticipated Jasper's annoyance at Emmett's attempt to break his concentration, or lack thereof, and answered for him. "All week."
Emmett flashed his little sister a look and she understood not to interrupt again. Why Emmett was so hell-bent on forcing words from Jasper, Alice didn't understand.
He tried again, "Just your dad will be back after a week, right?"
Again, Jasper nodded silently. Emmett was about to give up all hope of revitalizing the conversation when Jasper spoke. His words were soft at first, masked by the beautiful chords he was playing. "Monday, I think, is when he flies back in."
With an incessant tug on the strings, the chord sprung to life, dancing through the air and getting lost in the forest. He reached the strap over his shoulder and held the guitar away from his body. He thought better of it before setting it on the ground beside him and held it out to Edward as an offering. With a shrug, Edward reached out and took the instrument, confidently settling it in his lap. His playing was not like his comrade. Every chord strummed, every slide of his fingers, every string pulled was deliberate. The result, though just as beautiful as Jasper's, was not background music. The music blended together, each chord becoming another with no pauses, no thinking, in between. Everyone's attention was captured for a few minutes, trying to place the harmony. It wasn't until Edward finally noticed the stagnant, not relaxed, silence that he acknowledged their curiosity. He smiled his signature lop-sided grin before turning his attention back to, and solely on, the guitar in his hands.
Dismissing their interest and granting Emmett's wish, Jasper spoke again. Recognizing that Edward was too occupied by playing his own arrangements, Jasper looked only to Emmett. "The General wants to go riding when he gets back."
"Still annoyed he didn't get to come with us last time?" Emmett laughed.
"You know how he is," Jasper shrugged. "Although, we'll have to be more careful, if we want to go back to La Push so soon."
Excited at finding her in, Alice perked up immediately. "Speaking of La Push, guess who I officially met today!"
Emmett and Jasper exchanged a look, not understanding the connection, assuming it was really just a way for Alice to turn the conversation back to something she'd rather discuss. Seeing how Bella already knew and was dreading the next words out of Alice's mouth, Rosalie was the only one left to actually guess.
"Who?" she asked, only slightly interested.
"Jacob Black," Alice answered smugly.
"What?!" Emmett bellowed. "Alice! Where? Why? Did you actually talk to him?"
"Yes, I actually talked to him. I said I met him, didn't I?"
"Where did you meet him, Alice?" Jasper's voice was calmer, hoping to ease the tension that had suddenly erupted.
"At Bella's!" she answered, as though it were the obvious choice.
"Who's Jacob Black?" Rosalie asked confused, interest piqued.
Through gritted teeth, Emmett answered. "One of the Quileute boys."
"One of the ones that stopped you the other day? That you almost got in a fight with?" Rosalie was trying to keep her laughter at bay, but found it hard. The hilarity of the situation – that Alice met the kid who nearly fought Emmett and Jasper at Bella's house – was too great.
Emmett didn't grant Rosalie the confirmation she was striving for, to keep himself from snapping at her. Whatever she found funny about the entire situation was lost on him. As Edward continued to play, seamlessly transitioning from one song to the next, the entire conversation escaped him; he paid the others no mind. His only concern was the flawless music he was producing with his hands, and occasionally voice as he hummed along.
Jasper was experiencing sensory overload. Between the calming effect Edward's music was having on him and the tense atmosphere that surrounded the rest of his friends, Jasper didn't know how to respond to anyone. He struggled with the desire to make things right among his friends, to prevent anything from escalating, but sitting there, listening to the music, he just couldn't believe that things wouldn't turn out that way anyway.
Things were at a stalemate so he decided to further the conversation, without doing much damage. Or so he hoped. "Jacob actually mentioned you the other day, Bella."
Embarrassed, blood rushed to Bella's cheeks, coloring them pink. As coolly as she could manage, she tried to play it off. "So he said."
"So you are friends with him?" Emmett accused.
At the sound of Bella's voice, Edward's interest piqued. He lost only a half second of playing but no one noticed. Their attention was too fully focused on learning more about Bella's relationship with Jacob Black. After their motorcycling adventure, neither Emmett nor Jasper had explained about the Quileute boys anymore and Edward still did not understand how the tension had come to be. During the incident, he'd noticed how it was Jacob who'd stepped between them to quell the tempers – he'd stopped any fight from occurring. But still, Jasper and Emmett had not warmed up to him. Not that Edward had minded; it was obvious that Jacob had purposely mentioned Bella to earn his own rise out of the boys, purposely antagonizing them.
Edward yearned to learn more, but he didn't want to seem curious. He continued to play the sweet music, concentrating less because he didn't need to, and quieting the sound. He waited, biding his time until he too could join in the conversation.
"They're friends, alright!" Alice nearly shouted. Under her breath, but still loudly, she added, "More than friends, I'd say."
"Alice!" Bella scolded, shooting her best friend a look. The blush wasn't disappearing from Bella's cheeks and she really preferred for the entire conversation to be dropped.
'More than friends' was all Rosalie needed to hear. She took over for Emmett, asking her own questions. "Bella! Why didn't you say anything?"
"It's nothing." Bella's voice was hardly above a whisper as she wished she could melt into the pavement she was sitting on.
"Oh, gosh!" Alice squealed. "Rosalie, you should have seen it! Jacob is head over heels for Bella! And he's so cute!"
"He is?" Rosalie, leaning forward, asked, pressing for more details.
Behind her, Emmett cleared his throat loudly. "Really? Is this necessary?"
Placing a sweet kiss on his cheek, Rosalie reassured her boyfriend. "Babe, you know I love you. And no one could ever be as cute as you."
With a triumphant smile, Emmett leaned back on the ledge and pulled Rosalie's body flush with his.
"Bella?" Jasper asked.
She turned her head to meet Jasper's eyes, which showed nothing but compassioned. If there really was something to the relationship, he wouldn't judge, wouldn't say a word, but, first, he needed her confirmation.
"It's nothing, really." Seeing that her few words were reassuring of nothing, she further clarified. "Yes, Jacob has a crush on me, but I've made it clear I don't feel the same. Apparently, that just doesn't matter to him."
Emmett no longer needed to the conversation to be engaged for he was locked in his own world with Rosalie. Alice already knew the story and Bella assumed that Edward was still not paying any attention to the others, so her words were meant for Jasper.
He nodded, no words were needed.
Alice, however, had her own game plan. She drew in a breath to continue but was stopped when both Jasper and Bella shot her pleading looks to stop. Jasper neither knew, nor cared at the moment, whatever more she felt the need to share. He felt confident it would come out eventually and he didn't want Bella to suffer anymore then.
Whether their attentions were now unoccupied or because Edward's volume increased, everyone's attention was back on the music. In a few minutes, they all turned their heads to the sliding glass door as Esme stepped outside, bathroom pulled tight over her pajamas.
"It's a long drive to Seattle tomorrow. How about you kids head to bed? I think it's late enough." Sleep etched her words but she managed to stifle the yawn that threatened.
One by one, Emmett, Alice, Edward, Jasper, Rosalie and Bella filed past Esme, wishing her goodnight as they passed. She stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching as they all ascended and made their ways to the appropriate bedrooms.
Despite the relatively early hour, sleep settled over the upper level of the house quickly. With little difficulty, everyone relaxed, closing their eyes and allowing their bodies to drift into dreamland. After only 90 minutes in her subdued mental state, Bella woke with a start. There had been no bad dreams, that she could remember, but still she found sleep escaping her. She listened closely for the sounds of another stirring soul but heard only Alice's soft breathing beside her.
Bella tip-toed out of the room, leaving the door open an inch for her return. At the end of the hall, Rosalie's door, the door the guest room where Bella typically stayed, was shut. Past the stairs Bella saw that Emmett's door was also shut, him and Jasper inside. Bunking with Alice, while Rosalie slept in the guest room, provided enough space for all the guests and put Carlisle and Esme at ease about the sleeping arrangements. Before Edward had moved in, Emmett and Jasper had stayed in the loft upstairs, but now, after the renovations, there was only one bed.
The kitchen was dark and Bella didn't dare turn a light on as she poured herself a glass of water. Quickly she emptied the contents and sent the glass down on the counter. No one had shut the blinds covering the back sliding glass door after they'd come inside and Bella could clearly see the moon's reflection in the window. She refilled her glass and walked towards the back of the house. Light from an upper level of the house also reflected onto the cold concrete of the porch. Since she hadn't noticed Rosalie's or Emmett's lights on underneath their doors, Bella could only guess that Edward was also awake.
Internally debating the choice now set before her, Bella climbed the stairs, water glass in hand. Should she go to Edward's room and see for herself whether or not he was awake? She wanted to talk to him, that much she knew; they'd hardly spoken at all during the week and, frankly, she missed his company. But did he want to talk to her? Would he think it was a bother now? Maybe he just wanted to be left alone. Maybe there was a reason, other than busyness, that had prevented them from seeing much of each other over the past few days.
She crossed the threshold of Alice's room and shut the door with a soft click. As she made her way over to the bed, the glowing screen of her phone across the room caught her eye. Bella set the water glass down, taking a final sip, and then picked up her phone. The digital display announced that it was one minute into the new day. Without much thought but with nimble fingers, Bella opened a blank text message, recipient Edward Masen.
"Happy Birthday!" she wrote. If he was awake and wanted to talk, he could write back. If not, Bella could crawl back into the bed and forget having ever woken.
A few minutes passed, the backlight on her phone dimmed but there was no response from Edward. Giving up, Bella set the phone back onto the dresser top and crawled into bed carefully, trying not to stir Alice, the gentle-sleeper. She fluffed the pillow beneath her head and curled her body into the fetal position. Bella closed her eyes and, working her way up from her toes, tried to relax her body. Just when she'd felt the ease settle into her legs, her phone vibrated across the room.
Bella cursed herself, for two opposing reasons. First, she was annoyed that she'd given up on Edward's response and second, she was annoyed that she was now crossing the room to check her phone. She'd been within sleep's grasp, yet she'd rather enter into a text messaging conversation. But which was she more annoyed about? Giving up on Edward or being proved wrong?
Ridding herself of the thought, Bella wouldn't allow her mind to provide the answer. Instead, she opened the unread message."
"Thanks," he'd written. "What are you still doing up?"
"Couldn't sleep," she composed. She finished, "You?"
Again, his response took several minutes during which Bella waited anxiously. Finally, she read, "Wasn't tired."
How to respond, Bella wondered. He hadn't asked a question this time; maybe he didn't want an answer. Did he not to want to text? Suddenly, the phone vibrated in her hand again and Bella was pulled from her confusion.
"Come on up if you're not tired."
No debate was needed now. Edward wouldn't have invited her upstairs if he'd wanted to be left alone. In fact, he probably wouldn't have texted in the first place if he hadn't wanted to, she realized.
"Be right there," she sent before setting the phone down and heading up the stairs to his room.
A/N: It's only part of the trip to Seattle. I'd originally planned for more together but because of the time I've lost, I wanted to get something up as soon as possible for you all. I promise this won't turn into another seven-million chapter party. There's lots more goodness to come from Seattle, so let me know what you think of the first part of the trip. I'm sure you all liked some quality Edward/Bella time to last until the next chapter. This chapter title comes from a song by The Rocket Summer called "Waiting."